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Milk kefir grains are live active cultures consisting of yeast and bacteria existing in a symbiotic relationship. Adding the kefir grains to fresh milk yields a delicous probiotic drink in about 24 hours. Milk kefir can be enjoyed plain, flavored, or used in many recipes, like salad dressing, bread, and ice cream.

Milk Kefir Grains Instructions and Troubleshooting:

Ingredients: Organic powdered milk, organic milk, live active cultures. Packaged in a small amount of organic powdered milk to extend shelf life.

This product contains no GMO ingredients.

Shipping Information: Our milk kefir grains are shipped in a dehydrated state in a barrier-sealed packet. The product keeps

At room temperature (68° to 78°F): 12 to 18 months

In the refrigerator (40° to 45°F): 18+ months

In the freezer (0° to 25°F): not recommended

Milk Kefir Grains Allergen Information:

Our Milk Kefir Grains are a gluten-free product. Manufactured in a facility that produces products made with soy and dairy.

Why I Love This Product:

Milk kefir is my favorite fermented food! It is so easy to make. Every 2 days or so I spend 5 minutes straining and pouring the milk on top of my grains. My kids love it (especially mixed with a little honey). Because the milk kefir grains are reusable, they are an easy inexpensive way to make kefir forever! This is a perfect starter culture for anyone just starting out making their own fermented foods, or for families with only a little time on their hands! Want to know more about culturing milk kefir? Here are some of our blog posts about milk kefir! Erin, Social Media Coordinator

Questions on Milk Kefir Grains

You can indeed use these grains with soy milk, but almond milk (or nut milk) does not fare well. When you culture soy milk, be sure to do a batch of dairy milk next to revitalize them. If you want to culture almond milk, one way to do this is to add 1/4 cup finished water kefir (another culture) to 1 quart of almond milk.

When do you get the best benefit when drinking your kefir? After it's fermented for 12hrs , 24hrs , 36hrs or when the curd and whey are separated?

The kefir will have distributed the probiotics into the milk after in about 18-24 hours. The total length of time you let it ferment depends on how thick and how sour you like it. Most people prefer not to let the kefir separate into curds and whey, but some people like it that way. The longer it ferments, the more lactose is used up, and the more acid the milk becomes. If you let it sit for too long, the grains will run out of food, and can become weakened or even die.

Can kefir grains get cross contaminated from yeast? If so, how do you know they have and what do you do about it?

My grains gradually disappeared. Can the strainer not be fine enough and let the grains pass through?

I find it hard to separate the grains with the milk fat on top. Is there a trick to having lump-free creamy kefir that doesn't get the moldy smell on the cream that is at the top?

Sorry about all of the questions, but I don't know what I'm doing.

What you describe sounds like the grains were somehow weakened, and have disintegrated. As you describe it, they probably are still there and active, but too small to be sorted out. This can happen from cross-contamination if the kefir is too close to something else that is culturing, or bad bacteria such as a garbage can or compost. If your grains are not working, it's possible the grains might revive themselves if put into the fridge in fresh milk for just a few days.

To keep the cream from rising to the top, you can stir the kefir gently as it is culturing. If the cream rises to the top, it's possible that the surface is reacting with the air and going sour a little before it is kefiring.

You can give them to friends, blend them up in a smoothie, feed them to your pets, eat them plain or with a little cinnamon, put them in compost, use them as a salad topper (like feta cheese)... they are completely edible, and you can probably think of even more fun things to do with them. You can also dehydrate them at room temp to save as a backup!

Hi thanks for the response, that was incredibly quick! Great advice, I will definitely take them out of the thermos, The bag smells like, well..a mix between old milk(?) and a farm. But I'll give it a go and if it does not work I'll be placing my order with you guys when I get the chance ;)

Thanks again, and your website is like a goldmine of fermented stuff!

-Zak

Good luck! If you run into more difficulty, email us: customersupport@culturesforhealth.com

Hi, I just got some kefir grains for free from a person from an internet kefir grain network, they arrived in a plastic sandwich bag and were all mushy and stuff (they said they shipped it in organic liquid raw milk). I plan on potentially using it, but I don't know if it's safe as I have been storing it in a thermos jar until I find it's safe to use. The time the kefir was in transit was about 3 days or so, and I am still storing it in the container. I know you are probably thinking that this has nothing to do with your site, but I am getting instructions from your site, and I will buy your kefir grains unless these current ones seem legit to you. Also, would rinsing the milk stuff off of them help?

Thanks, I look forward to your response!

If the kefir grains you received in the mail smell okay, you can go ahead and try them in a jar of milk to see how they do. They may need a batch or two to get back up to speed. It's possible that if they're not working, the milk you put them in will just go bad from sitting out, but you should be able to tell that from the smell.

Get those grains into some milk immediately, or they will starve. They also need some oxygen unless they're refrigerated, so if they're in a closed thermos they could be having problems. You shouldn't need to rinse them, but it won't hurt. Make sure the water you use is free of chlorine and fluoride (bottled spring water is fine.)

2 days ago I made kefir and let it culture for 24 hours which was a mistake because it caused some serious gastrointestinal problems since it is hot in my kitchen without AC. I dumped the rest out and used the grains again, this time leaving it out yesterday for about 8 hours; it was still really hot yesterday and by the time I came home, it had separated into what looked like curds and whey.

Today, I've made kefir and it's already pretty ready after about 6 hours. But, things in my refrigerator are turning sour/into kefir. Yesterday I thought I was crazy when my milk in the fridge went sour and wasn't expired yet. This morning, I threw out curdled half and half. Now, another jug of milk.

Are my grains ruined? Is all of this just because of the heat? Why is this causing problems in the fridge?

If the kefir is covered in the refrigerator, and the other products are covered as well, it is very unlikely that there would be cross-contamination. Is it possible that the thermostat in your refrigerator needs to be re-set.

It is possible that the kefir is working faster in the heat. One way to slow it down is to put the jar in a shallow dish or pie plate, and fill the dish with water. The evaporational cooling will help bring down the temperature of the kefir jar.

It's also possible you have too many grains for your amount of milk. Base your amounts on the ratio of 1 tsp. of grains per 1 to 4 cups of milk.

I will be putting my kefir grains in the refrigerator with milk as I am going on vacation for a week. I have started using the grains in coconut milk per your instructions. When I return from vacation should I put the grains into regular milk for 24 hours before I start the coconut milk procedure again? Thanks for your help.

It's always a great idea to nourish/culture your grains with their native food (lactose) when they are coming out of hibernation. Give them a batch or two in cow's milk to ensure they are active, and then do a batch of coconut milk.

You're reviewing: Milk Kefir Grains

Customer Reviews

I had a little bit of a hard time getting the directions straight but my kefir grains are actually starting to multiply. I had put my grains into raw milk at first, but realized I did it wrong and through contact with customer support via e-mail, I got back on track and they are doing good now. I really recommend the Milk Kefir grains.

I ordered these grains and they arrived 3 days later! I reconstituted them and I have been making smoothies ever since! Can't wait to educate myself with more ways to use my Kefir! So happy with this product! Would definitely recommend.

It took two tries before they started their fermentation, even though the whole milk product was not ultra pasteurized (and is supposed to be antibiotic free). I am going to, however, try different brands of milk; their fermentation rate remains slow compared to the granules that I have used in the past.

Response from CFH: It is normal for dehydrated grains to take 3-5 days to start culturing. If you experience trouble with your cultures, please contact customer support for assistance. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/contact-us

My house is cool so after a few days of my kefir not thickening, I began keeping it in the oven with just the light on. This makes about 3 cups in 24 hours. I've begun flavoring my kefir in a second fermentation. Finding out what works and what doesn't. Hopefully my grains will begin to grow soon so I can give them away to introduce everyone to the benefit of cultured milk. Love that good bacteria!

Staff was very helpful too, since I needed alot of hand-holding during the first two weeks.

There are many places online to buy kefir grains, but I highly recommend buying them at Cultures for Health. I have ordered both the water kefir grains and milk kefir grains. My water kefir grains hydrated quickly and started producing water kefir in just a few days. I struggled with my milk kefir and wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. I emailed Cultures for Health and got an very quick response with suggestions. Anita was so helpful and patient answering all of my questions and helping me get my milk kefir grains producing milk kefir. I couldn't have asked for better customer service. :)

This is the second batch of milk kefir grains I have purchased from you, and neither of them has grown in size or quantity. I always use Kroger's Simple Truth organic milk.

Your service is awesome!

Thanks.

Mary

Response from CFH: We do not guarantee that Milk Kefir Grains will grow or multiply. Everyone gets different results. Very few grains are need to culture milk kefir. We ask that you contact us any time you have questions or problems with your products.

Re-hydrating instructions very clear and easy to follow. The grains are up and running and they produce nice milk kefir. However, there are only three grains and they are neither growing much in size, nor reproducing. Once fully hydrated, I started using milk from my own goats...I use no antibiotics...so I do not understand the lack of growth.
I had grains a few years back from a friend and those grains multiplied daily.

Response from CFH: Milk kefir grains may or may not grow, as they are a very dynamic culture. For tips on encouraging grains to grow, see: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/encouraging-milk-kefir-grains-to-mutiply

I am now making Kefir at home and am happy I can make full fat, organic Kefir in any flavor we desire. I feel better drinking Kefir daily. The thickest, most flavorful Kefir I’ve made was with raw dairy milk (following the special instructions on CFH).

I was timid about trying to culture Kefir again and mistakenly got confused while doing Filmjolk in the same month. Though both processed on the counter they require different feeding schedules. Online chat supported me awesomely along the way.

I no longer need to purchase sour cream or buttermilk and am learning all about the health benefits and tasty ways to use whey. (A byproduct of straining either of these cultures.) Buying just two cultures and learning on this website have opened a new way to work in my kitchen and make good gut bacteria (probiotics) at home.

I placed my kefir grains in the refrigerator for a few weeks until I was ready to use them. It took a few batches for them to really kick in and start making thick kefir, but the last batch thickened well. I appreciate the tips that CFH has for cold and warm weather care. I am thankful for the cost savings of being able to make my own kefir over and over again and being able to make a natural product without added ingredients.

I bought my first batch of milk kefir grains from CFH back in 2011. Even though I did not handle them right at that time I still got a few years use out of them. Then one day they quit and I got a new batch. This time I prepared them right from the start. I drink raw milk only and did not know back in 2011 I could not use that milk to start the grains. This time I did right, buying pasteurized milk, changing every 24 hours, and slowly introducing some raw into the culture. Now my grains are acting like good healthy grains (the last batch never grew, these are!) and I am getting better quality kefir that before.

This product is great! Mine developed curds and whey much more quickly than expected which resulted in a big mess and in the need to purchase another round of this product. So, be sure to tend yours closely.

When I have purchased these grains in the past, I have been 100% satisfied. Additionally, I love supporting a site that provides so much strong information and delicious recipes for the fermentation community!

Response from CFH: Curds and whey is extremely common when culturing Milk Kefir Grains. The grains can recover and culture future batches successfully with minor adjustments. Please contact Customer Support before discarding any cultures.

I have a hard time keeping yogurt made. I have found that having kefir on hand to make smoothies with when I am out of yogurt is very helpful. It is very easy culture to use, and I have found that my family doesn't mind the flavor difference in smoothies.

(Posted on 1/11/2015)

Attention!

Starter cultures, rennet for cheese making and cultured vegetables, juices and condiments are sensitive to excessive heat. Once your order has shipped, an e-mail with tracking information will be sent to you. We encourage you to use the tracking information to anticipate the arrival of your items so they can be removed from the mail box and stored in the refrigerator promptly.

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